Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Review: -able by Scott Ginsberg

Scott Ginsberg is celebrating his tenth anniversary. He’s been wearing a nametag for ten years in a row. He has never taken it off. That’s right, ten years = three thousand, six hundred and fifty days = 87,600 hours = 5 million two hundred fifty six thousand minutes = 31 million 531 thousand seconds and counting. He’s the world record holder. He has even tattooed his nametag on his chest and is the only person in the world who has made a career out of wearing a nametag.

Scott developed the nametag profession as a way to teach people how to overcome their shyness and the awkwardness of making that first introduction. In the process, he has become the authority on how to be approachable and turn being approachable into being profitable.

And now he’s on a new mission to see if he can help jumpstart the whole of humanity to evolve to a whole new realm of human ability.

“-able”, is the title of his newest book. In it you will find 35 strategies for increasing the probability of success in business and in life including:

How to be more findable than a smile at a nudist colony

How to be more referable than an attorney hoped up on sodium pentothal

How to be more sellable than a case of Coors Light at a Colorado Rockies tailgate party.

And more advance-able, more book-able, more brand-able, more buzz-able, more callback-able, sough-after-able and unstop-able in everything you are trying to achieve in life, and much more.

Scott Ginsberg is a human dynamo and what he’s is trying to do is sell you on his theory of the universe, which is this:

The only thing in life that you have control over is yourself, and that you can’t make anything happen- but you can greatly increase the probability of that thing happening … by making yourself more –able.

In –able, Scott Ginsberg offers up a collection of life learned practices for advancing things along with wit and humor and wisdom that will have your head spinning in no time flat. Here’s a sample:

1. Ideas are free; execution is priceless. Anybody can wear a nametag everybody. But not anyone can leverage a simple idea into a six-figure enterprise. Lesson learned: Your biggest advantage is when nobody can keep up with you. You have to be dangerously prolific. And refuse to slow down long enough for anyone to catch up. That’s how you out-execute the competition. And here’s how: First, executional velocity. Take action quickly. Second, executional volume: Take action prodigiously. Third, executional value: Take action exquisitely. Finally, executional vitality: Take action consistently. Are you an idea person or an execution person?

2. Never be stopped by not knowing how. Accept that the planets will never be aligned. Don’t wait until everything’s perfect. Don’t wait until you’re experienced enough. Don’t wait until you know what you’re doing. Don’t wait for overwhelming evidence to trust yourself. Heighten your impatience; enter into the heart of action and jump off the high board hoping there’s water below. Otherwise procrastination – the redneck second cousin of patience – will rob you of the motivation you need to carry in the cavalry charge. Finished is the new perfect. How will you leverage impatience as fuel for your motivation?

3. Ambition without focus is bankruptcy. How you spend your day – literally, hour by hour – will determine how much money you make, how happy you are, how healthy you are and how successful you become. Especially if you’re like and you don’t have a real job. You almost have to force yourself to create a typical day. Otherwise you get cabin fever and your time not only manages you, it drives you insane. I’m not suggesting you choreograph every waking hour of your life. The challenge is designing a typical day for you, which enforces (some) structure and predictability, while still leaving room for spontaneity and playfulness. As long as you constantly ask yourself if what you’re doing – in this moment – is consistent with your number one goal. Have you pictured your ideal day yet?

4. Anonymity is biggest barrier to success. I wear a nametag 24-7. I literally have zero anonymity whatsoever. I’m not suggesting you do the same. In fact, I strongly suggest you do not wear a nametag 24-7. About a fourth of the time, it’s a flat-out pain in the ass. But consider the adverse relationship between anonymity and profitability. A good start would be to throw away your marketing plan and begin writing a visibility plan. Because it’s not who you know – it’s not who knows you – and, whose life is significantly better because they know you. How are you making people aware of you?

5. Beware of the over-commitment trap. It’s like owning a truck: The week you buy it, everyone and their mother needs help moving. And you don’t want to feel like a bad friend, so you allow yourself become entangled in other people’s pointless wars. No wonder you never execute. You haven’t learned to be respectfully discerning about whom you give permission participate in your life. Ask these filtering questions: Is this person asking me to create a future that I’m going to feel obligated to be a part of? Is the level of help this person is asking me to offer commensurate with the type of relationship I have with them? If you don’t set healthy boundaries for yourself, other people will set them for you. And then they will violate them. And then they will tell all their little friends that it’s okay to do the same. All because you never set a precedent of time valuation. Are you sacrificing your life by spending too much time being everybody else’s dream machine?

6. Consistency is far better than rare moments of greatness. Every day. That’s the two-word secret to executing anything. And it shouldn’t even have to be a secret, but I guess not everyone has grasped this concept yet. For example, when I talk to fellow authors, they’re always “working on their next book.” But when I ask them the only question that matters – “What did you write today?” – they fumble to give me an answer. Which means they’re not consistent. Which means they’re not executing. Which means they are going to be buried with their book still inside them. Tragic. On the other hand, when I talk to writers who discipline themselves to stick to their writing schedule – every day – the conversation changes. People actually carry out their ideas. People actually write amazing books. And they also tend to be cooler people to talk to. Not only is consistency the engine of exquisite execution, it’s also the conduit of character. There is no royal road to greatness except by constantly plugging, every day. What action have you taken on your idea, today?

7. Strike a passionate pose. Executing without passion is nothing but a trash talker in drag. However, here are a few thoughts about passion that you’ve probably never considered. Passion without purpose is pointless. Otherwise your passion becomes nothing but beautiful blazing fire that burns you and everyone you touch. Also, ask yourself the following questions to gauge the relevancy of your passion: Is your passion cool, but irrelevant to the marketplace? Is your passion inherently interesting, but difficult to sell? Is your passion intrinsically appealing, but something you suck at? Keep these thoughts in your mind and you’ll prevent striking a passionate pose that nobody notices. Are you currently operating out of your passion in the most profitable, healthy way?

8. Hacking isn’t cheating. In the game of life, you have a few options: Change the game so there are no rules. Change the rules so you can win at your own game. Play the game but become the exception to every rule. And the question to ask when faced with one of these “rules” is: “Can this rule be ignored, modified or changed?” By doing so, you give yourself permission to refuse to accept your current circumstances. This opens the floodgates to diligent work on creating a new set of circumstances. Lean the rules. Learn which of the rules are irrelevant. What could you do that is the exact opposite of everyone?

9. Get comfortable with the risk of failure. If you screw up early enough, quickly enough and quietly enough – then make a conscious effort to extract lessons learned from those biffs – only a few people will notice. That’s why mistake is the mentor of man. The challenge is attending to your failures with a mindset of personal growth, life-long learning and never-ending improvement. Do this, and disappointment will slowly dissipate. Do this, and discomfort will become less threatening. Then, all you have to do is ask the two big questions: Why did the universe want me to make this mistake? What would I have to learn about this mistake to make it no longer a mistake? Remember: Humans aren’t averse to risk – they’re averse to loss, which is the result of risk. What can you lose today?

10. Make a public and purposeful choice to play big. I started wearing a nametag twenty-four seven in 2000. I started my career as a writer, speaker and entrepreneur in 2002. But my company didn’t start to see profit until 2005. Why? Well, success does take time. You’d be hard pressed to find a wealthy entrepreneur to disprove that argument. But what’s really spooky is that the year I finally started making real money – and, more importantly, making real meaning in the universe – was the same year I finally sacked up and got the nametag tattooed on my chest. When you publicize your willingness to commit with both feet – that is, to commit enough so you can’t turn back – providence will move to orchestrate the perfect conditions. At that point, executing what matters will be an unavoidable result. And people won’t just pay attention – they’ll pay money. Is your commitment unquestionable?

Scott's book made me want to go out and do all the things I've been wanting to do. It's a great confidence builder because of his positive attitude. After reading a little of -able, I realized that I had actually taken a lot of his suggestions without even realizing it. You can use this book any way you want, it can help with things like relationships, money, happiness, anything really. This is probably one of my favorite self-help books ever.

Disclosure: I received a copy of this book for free. All opinions expressed are 100% mine. If you make a purchase using my Amazon or Barnes and Noble link, I will receive a small portion of the purchase price.